Editing Capitoline Hill (section)

==Medieval history==
The church of [[Santa Maria in Aracoeli]] is adjacent to the square, located near where the ancient ''[[Arx (Roman)|arx]]'', or citadel, atop the hill it once stood. At its base are the remains of a Roman ''[[insulae|insula]]'', with more than four storeys visible from the street.

In the Middle Ages, the hill's sacred function was obscured by its other role as the center of the civic government of Rome, revived as a [[comune|commune]] in the 12th century. Rome's government was now firmly under [[Papal States|papal control]], but the Capitoline was the scene of movements of urban resistance, such as the dramatic scenes of [[Cola di Rienzo]]'s revived republic.<ref name="Von Einem 1973 197–206"/>

In 1144, a revolt by the citizens against the authority of the Pope and nobles led to a senator taking up his official residence on the Capitoline Hill.  The senator's new palazzo turned its back on the ancient forum, beginning the change in orientation on the hill that Michelangelo later accentuated. A small piazza was laid out in front of the senator's palazzo, intended for communal purposes.  In the middle of the 14th century, the guilds' court of justice was constructed on the southern end of the piazza. This later housed the Conservatori in the 15th century.<ref name="Von Einem 1973 197–206">{{cite book|last=Von Einem|first=Herbert|title=Michelangelo|year=1973|publisher=Methuen and Co. Ltd.|location=London|pages=197–206}}</ref> As a result, the piazza was already surrounded by buildings by the 16th century.